Caturday
by Beldamslittlehelper
Summary: When a potion Merlin makes accidentally turns Arthur into a cat, things become a catastrophe.
1. Catastrophe

Merlin had noticed that Arthur hadn't been sleeping well lately. Arthur's eyes always looked shadowed by his troubles; he seemed to yawn once every minute.

However it was his mood that was the most affected. As his mood continued to get worse, Merlin's determination to find a cure or at least something to help Arthur sleep more regularly was increasing as Arthur's mood continued to get more unbearable.

The following day had been the last straw. Merlin's decision to find a cure for Arthur had now taken over his brain as it was time to take his plan into action.

Merlin rushed into the potion room the second he had finished running her errands for Gaius and looked at the many potion books in search of a cure.

"Merlin" Gaius said as he walked into the same room with a confused look on his face.

"No time to explain Gaius, I need a sleeping draft for Arthur" Merlin replied while frantically speed reading the books.

Merlin's eyes widened with joy when he had finally found a potion that would help Arthur to sleep therefore improving his dangerously bad mood. As Merlin had started to make the potion Gaius picked up the book and saw what potion it was and said in a warning tone, "Merlin do you even know what kind of potion this is"?

"A sleeping one" Merlin said, along with rushing with making the potion.

Once Merlin had finished making the potion, Gaius called his name again but this time he was ignored as Merlin had ran out of the room with the potion in hand.

Gaius shook his head as if he knew what the consequences were going to be.

"Arthur"! Merlin called as he raced into his chambers, holding a small bottle full of the potion Merlin had made.

"What is it"! Arthur snapped.

"I made a potion, it's to help you sleep" Merlin explained with a wide grin taking over his face.

"And you're sure it will work"? Arthur questioned flatly.

"Yes" Merlin said.

Merlin passed the potion to Arthur; he took one odd look at the potion before gulping it down.

After giving the empty bottle to Merlin, he felt a sudden twinge in his chest.

"Well I don't feel sleepy"! Arthur stated in irritation.

Arthur then felt another twinge in his chest but this time it was more powerful. All of a sudden Arthur felt more harsh twinges before he started to shrink more and more until Merlin could not see him.

"Arthur"? Merlin asked,which got him no response.

"Arthur"! Merlin tried again but only this time he was louder.

Merlin then felt something scratch painfully on his leg, "ow"! He yelped and turned around to see a ginger cat glaring at him furiously.

"That hurt" Merlin complained.

"Good"! The cat said in the same irritated tone.

"Arthur, is that you"? Merlin asked before exploding into laughter.

Before Arthur could answer Gaius came into the room, his eyes slightly dilating when he saw the ginger cat sat right in front of him.

"Merlin you didn't read what the potion was in detail" Gaius said flatly.

Merlin stopped laughing that very second; he took the book while Gaius pointed a bony finger at the description of the potion, Merlin's eyes widened with realisation of what he had done.

"Err, I might have misread it slightly" Merlin said quietly.

"Misread what"? Arthur asked looking directly at Merlin.

Merlin stood in silence for a second before reading out what he had missed, "This potion turns you into an animal that is good at sleeping, not actually a potion that brings you to sleep" Merlin explained nervously.

"You idiot"! Arthur exclaimed, his angry gaze directed at Merlin.

"Is there a cure"? Merlin asked, concerned for the next few days that Arthur would have to face.

"There is" Gaius said before continuing, "but it will take some time to gather all the ingredients".

"How long Gaius"? Arthur asked, irritation still showing in his voice.

"A couple of days at least" Gaius replied.

"So you mean, I'm going to be stuck as a furry feline for at least three to four days"! Arthur shouted his eyes which were fixed on Merlin with a deep look of anger".

"I'm afraid so sire" Gaius said sympathetically.

"Great" Arthur grumbled before Gaius interrupted, "Under no circumstances must Uther see this" Gaius warned firmly.

"What am I supposed to do with him"? Merlin asked.

"Take him away from here, if Uther finds out he will go ballistic" Gaius said.

"Now that you mention it, that idea doesn't sound too bad" Arthur said under his breath.

"Where do I take him"? Merlin asked now worried about where they could possibly go.

"I'm not sure" Gaius replied.

"I'm sure you will think of something" Arthur added sarcastically.

"Just hide him somewhere until I get the cure" Gaius ordered before leaving to start planning on getting the ingredients.

"You really are the worst servant ever" Arthur said flatly.

"At least you might sleep well, cats are very good at sleeping" Merlin said, trying to reassure Arthur.

"Cats also have claws to scratch idiot servants with" Arthur added.

"Look we need to get you out of here" Merlin stated quietly as if someone was listening in to their conversation.

"Oh okay just one problem, where"! Arthur shouted.

"I'll find somewhere trust me" Merlin said.

"Trust you, you just turned me into a moggy" Arthur said in a childish tone.

"I see you being turned into a cat hasn't improved your mood then" Merlin said sarcastically.

Arthur was about to grab something to throw at Merlin before remembering that as he was now a cat, he couldn't reach for anything let alone throw anything.

"Well at least this didn't turn about to be a complete catastrophe" Merlin joked with the grin returning.

"There really is no limit to your wit, now will you just get me out of here before anyone else see's" Arthur ordered.

Merlin picked up Arthur and stuffed him into a small brown bag just big enough for a medium size cat to fit in to.

As Merlin put a hand over the bag, he felt Arthur swat at him with his paw while whispering, "Are you trying to starve me from oxygen as well as turn me into an animal".

"It would be less trouble if I was" Merlin mumbled in mock seriousness.

On the other hand Arthur didn't see it as a joke, which was shown when Merlin felt a huge scratch being made on his arm.

"Is that your way of telling me to-"

"Shut up Merlin" Arthur interrupted sharply.

 _Yep._


	2. Purrfect

Merlin's journey to get Arthur out of the castle had been eventful which consisted with a few stops on the way.

The first stop Merlin made was when he accidentally bumped into the two guards who were guarding the corridor.

The second stop Merlin had to make was when he knocked Gwen over which caused her to drop the basket full of Morgana's washing. Merlin was soon punished for it when Arthur dug his claw into Merlin's side.

"Just because you like her" Merlin whispered in a mocking way.

Their banter was soon interrupted by the third and final stop which happened to be Uther.

"Where's Arthur"? Uther demanded.

Arthur prodded Merlin with his paw as if he was trying to say get rid of him!

"He's not here" Merlin replied to Uther's question nervously.

"I can see that "Uther retorted before adding in the same rough tone, "Where is he"!

"He's out hunting" Merlin said rather quickly.

Uther gave him a questioning look before saying "alone, why aren't you with him"?

Merlin fidgeted nervously, "he said that I scare off all the animals because I'm such a clumsy idiot" Merlin replied.

"I can see that" Uther said then left which gave Merlin a clear way out of the castle to somewhere to hide Arthur.

Merlin traipsed around the village of the poor people to find nowhere to hide Arthur without the risk of getting found out.

Merlin was about to resort to a plan B when he was tapped on the shoulder by Gwen.

"Merlin what are doing"? She asked kindly.

"Um I was just doing some errands for Gaius" Merlin lied.

Gwen then saw something move in Merlin's bag and looked at him as if she knew he was hiding something.

Gwen went up to Merlin and whispered in his ear, "Merlin I know you've got something in there".

Merlin sighed and grabbed Arthur and showed her the ginger cat which Gwen gave a little smile to.

"Why have you got a cat"? Gwen asked kindly.

"I found this cat in the royal kitchens and the cooks nearly beat the cat to death with their broom sticks and I just couldn't let this innocent cat die at their grubby hands" Merlin lied but this time with more confidence.

Gwen smiled a full smile, "If you want I could take the cat in for a bit "she offered.

Merlin smiled back before accepting her offer. As Gwen went into her cottage Arthur turned to Merlin and said "Don't tell Gwen that it's me".

"I won't, I promise" Merlin confirmed.

Merlin took Arthur into Gwen's cottage and put him down on to the wooden table.

"Look after him for a couple of days, nobody will search here" Merlin said.

"I will" Gwen replied with a lot of trust in her words.

Merlin was about to leave until Gwen asked, "What's the cat's name"?

Merlin had to think of a name on the spot, "His name is... Goldie" Merlin improvised.

Arthur gave him a is that seriously the best name you could come up with look.

With that Merlin walked out of the cottage, now proud that he had sorted out the temporary home for Arthur.

Walking back to his own room Merlin was stopped rather suddenly when Uther came storming over to him.

"Where's Arthur I need to speak to him now"! Uther demanded but with more volume than last time.

"He's still hunting" Merlin replied trying not to let Uther see that he was shaking.

Uther groaned, "Well when he returns tell him I need to speak with him urgently"! Uther grunted before stomping off.

"Phew that was close" Merlin whispered to himself once Uther wasn't in hearing distance.

Meanwhile at Gwen's cottage Gwen was giving Arthur the ginger cat a tummy rub which Arthur was enjoying every second of. He especially loved it when he made Gwen smile at the sound of his purring.

Later in the evening as Gwen got into bed Arthur jumped up onto the bed and curled up next to her. She stroked his head before saying "good night little puss".

Arthur laid his head back on the side on Gwen's back, realizing that this was the closest he may ever get to being with her in this way.

Before sleep claimed him Arthur thought to himself, maybe being a cat isn't so bad after all.


End file.
